INVESTIGATION work will get under way next week to decide whether it is feasible to build a £60m offshore wind farm to the east of Swansea Bay.

INVESTIGATION work will get under way next week to decide whether it is feasible to build a &#xA3;60m offshore wind farm to the east of Swansea Bay.

A jack-up barge, equivalent to a barge on legs, will be set up in the Bristol Channel to sink boreholes up to 30 metres deep to determine possible foundations for 30 proposed giant metal wind turbines. Commercial enterprise United Utilities is carrying out the work after securing an option to lease 10 square kilometres of seabed at Scarweather Sands between Port Talbot and Porthcawl.

The scheme is likely to run into opposition from environmentalists who will be concerned about the effect of the development on the seascape.

And there are likely to be worries about the environmental effects of the wind farm on marine life.

Public exhibitions are to be held in the area during this summer to help inform and gauge public opinion.

The proposed offshore wind farm, 10 km south of Port Talbot, would generate a potential 90 megawatts - enough to provide power for up to 80,000 homes.